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2016 Audi S4 review: The go-anywhere, do-anything sedan

Just don't get it in 'Hello, Officer' red

April 28, 2016

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When is 333 hp more than 333 hp? When it’s in an Audi S4 and max power seems to be on tap from 0 to 7,000 rpm. I’ll recite my text to Andy on the Saturday that I had the car out and about: "Damn, this car is good."

First of all, it’s gorgeous in “Hello, Officer" red and it seems to be just the right size, offering a decent amount of room in the back seat with scalloped front buckets, a giant trunk -- I threw three bags of clothes in there for the Salvation Army and had space for four more -- and enough width that your elbows won’t rub when you have a front-seat passenger.

The Google Earth navigation is cool, showing you the satellite view along with the roads and traffic. The radio/entertainment system works well except for the lack of a frickin’ USB port! This S4 still has the proprietary cord in the glove box; in this loaner, it was equipped for an iPhone4. Bluetooth works fine though, and it only took me a minute or two to set up. That’s one of those things that you only have to do once, but it’s nice when it’s an easy process. And surely new cars off the lot would come with a connection for whatever phone you have, but still. Rear visibility is good; anything you can’t see is picked up by the rearview camera.

When I first sat down in the car, I thought the clutch pedal was a little … sticky. It didn’t pop up as fast as I like. But once the engine was started, I found it nearly perfect, catching about halfway up with a good-sized slip point. If that point is too small, it’s hard to take off smoothly; if it’s too big, it feels like you’re just burning the clutch all day. Hard launches are easy and so are super smooth shifts once you’re at speed. The stickshift, too, is just the right size -- between a baseball and a golf ball -- and the action is direct and confidence inspiring. I made a ton of full throttle shifts over the weekend and didn’t miss a single one.

The brakes catch right away and the gas pedal is easy to reach for heel-toe shifting. It’s one of the best pedal boxes in the business, hands down.

2016 Audi S4 Photo by Autoweek

I can’t believe how well this S4 handles the road. Even in dynamic mode, the stiffest, it still absorbs everything Detroit roads can throw at it. You’ll see the bumps coming, and you’ll hear them, but you won’t feel them. There’s a bit of lean in the corners, and a bit of lift on hard launches, but for an every day, all-year car, it’s a perfect mix.

I thought the steering might be a little too easy for this class of car, especially when I was creeping around our parking lot. But once you get some speed, things firm up quickly. Audis always have fast ratios, but on the expressway, this car is like a scalpel, dicing up traffic without moving the wheel more than an inch or two. Damn this car is good.

If I had to complain, I could use a little more noise from the exhaust -- it didn’t even seem as loud as our S3 -- and maybe a little more aggression in the styling. This car also had winter tires; I’d bet it’d be a giant killer with some Michelin Cup tires. Speaking of, I’d love to get this car on the racetrack.

So this car is a touch over 50K (our long-term S4 from 2010 was a touch under 60K), so it seems like good value. We’d love to compare it to the M3 and C63, but those cars are really playing in a different league now. The M3 has 425 hp and current C63 has 469 hp. They’re both a good bit more expensive.

Nope. This Audi occupies a niche of its own and I think it’s perfectly happy to be there. And seriously, if I had to pick one car to drive for the rest of my life, this would be high on the list.

-- Jake Lingeman, road test editor

2016 Audi S4 Photo by Autoweek

OTHER VOICES:

The S4 is one of the few "happily ever after" cars for me. As a daily driver sports sedan, it's damn near perfect; it's not the fastest, the flashiest, the most powerful or the lightest, but the mechanical interplay between engine, transmission and wheels is sublime. Likewise, driver touchpoints are crafted to feel and behave exactly the way I prefer (note the "I" there -- as with all subjective commentary, your mileage may vary).

The S4 is just right, in every possible way.

This is the part where I normally say, "but cheebus it's expensive for what it is." Not gonna happen here. Even with options, the $54K sticker on our tester is an insane bargain. The BMW 340i I drove a few months back impressed me in much the same way as our S4, but that car stickered at over $60K. The Audi gives up nothing to the Bimmer, plus it carries the added prestige of the S badge, for whatever that's worth to you or your neighbors.

Simply spectacular. Don't screw up the next one, Audi…

-- Andrew Stoy, digital editor

2016 Audi S4 Photo by Autoweek

Sometimes I think I’d be perfectly happy in an A4 wagon (if Audi still made it) with the VW Group’s 2.0-liter turbo (one of my favorite engines) and paddle shifters. Then I drive an S4 and fall in lust all over again.

This S4’s understated looks and power/grace combination is just the ticket for me. The engine is so flexible, and the seats are a little huggier than standard A4 seats--I just like the combo.

This engine is sublime. There are no hiccups when you roll on the power and the engine is so potent and flexible you barely have to shift. Much to the dismay of the young people in the office I’d get mine with DSG.

I found myself in the suspension’s soft setting most often – the hard setting (Audi calls it Dynamic) was too hard, though this is the time of year when the roads around here are at their worst. Auto mode made the car feel connected to the road without beating the hell out of me but overall I preferred the soft setting. The car still feels nimble and quick witted and the ride over potholes is fine.

The interior is typical Audi, well screwed together with good materials, and it’s comfortable. I do find Audi’s heat/vac controls a bit fiddly. It takes three steps to change some things. It’s not too bad, though and I suppose I’d get used to it.

As for the price, it’s actually a couple grand less than a 2014 S4 we had back in the day.